She was almost brought to tears when Addison hugged her on the way out. “Ms. Graham, you’re the best teacher I’ve ever had. I wish you were coming back next year.”

“That’s so nice to hear, Addison. I won’t lie. I wish I was too.”

“Do you know where you’re teaching yet?”

“Not yet.” She left it at that. There was no reason to bring some of her favorite students down with her troubles.

After they headed out and she got to her desk, she found she had two new voicemails on her phone. The first was from the shelter, and she listened to it first.

“Olivia, hey, it’s Megan. I hope I’m not overstepping here, but I wanted to give you a heads-up. We had some serious interest in Morgan today. It was a family with two young kids. They were close to deciding to adopt him but decided instead to sleep on it tonight. Since they have young kids and no fence, we’d have to do a home visit before adopting him out.” There was a pause and then Megan added, “I just wanted you to know. And I know they were unfamiliar to him, but he looked pretty much the same way he did when we were giving him a bath, which I suspect is enough not to have to say any more about his excitement level.” After an audible sigh, Megan finished with, “That’s it. Sorry, lady. No pressure. Just thought you needed to know.”

Olivia’s heart pounded in her chest. How young were the kids and what kind of kids were they? Were they gentle and laid-back or the rough-and-tumble sort? Morgan was obedient enough, but he wasn’t playful like some dogs. Would he take having his ears or tail tugged or being ridden like a horse? She could never imagine him snarling or snapping, but she also couldn’t imagine him finding that fun either.

With shaky hands, she listened to the other voicemail. It was a 573 area code, which meant the caller was most likely from her hometown.

“Olivia Graham, this is Principal Rutherford. Give me a call when you have a minute, will ya?”

That was it. Nothing else. Her heart raced harder as she remembered him walking into her classroom a little over five months ago and telling her that with their budget crisis, combined with the three students they’d lost to relocations, they’d made a proactive decision to combine classes. She no longer had a job for the spring semester.

That brought you here. To these kids. To Gabe. To Morgan. To Aunt Becky and that little town that was so healing when you most needed it.

She took a long drink of water and dialed back his number. He answered on the second ring.

“Olivia. I was hoping to hear from you yet today.”

“Hi. Sorry I missed your call. I was with my students.”